My limit for sap is through the roof, as I got all warm and fuzzy when I found this song Rene Liu recorded with mah gurls Zhou Xun, Kwai Lun Mei and Tang Wei (whom I’ve just recently warmed up). They’re all super cute and super dork and super sappy together. I love it.
The song is called Wish You Well (我要你好好的), a single of Rene’s latest album of the same name, but it’s one of the last songs to get a video. The song Murmur of the Hearts (念念) [MV] is also on this album. I thought maybe it was for a movie, but doesn’t seem likely.
I’m enjoying all these liquor short films [1] that are coming up. I don’t even drink. This time around Indian actresses Konkona Sen Sharma and Tillotama Shome are two neighbor friends despite their seemingly different personalities for a short sponsored by Seagram’s Royal Stag.
Directed by Jaydeep Sarkar, the short seems to come as… sort of a clash with the image of a whisky brand. But I’ll take it.
Anyone who’ve seen both Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 1996 directorial debut Khamoshi: The Musical (Silence: The Musical) and last year’s Belgian-French La Famille Bélier -by Eric Lartigau- can spot the similarities between the two (as well as the 1996 German film Beyond Silence (Jenseits der Stille) by Caroline Link). You can even spot the similar plot points by either reading the outline or watching the trailer.
In the pivotal emotional punch of the movie, the daughter (played by Manisha Koirala and Louane Emera respectively) auditions to the coveted singing position, when her (deaf) parents -who had been against the idea- show up to see their daughter perform both vocally and in sign language. Koirala (voiced by playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy) doing Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hain (This Heart Is Listening), and Emera singing Je Vole (I Fly).
Though Lartigau’s more modern take is much more musically accessible (let’s be honest, the film starts out with 2008 staple That’s Not My Name [1]), it’s also lighter. Bhansali’s story focuses a big chunk of his running time to tell the story of Manisha’s parents, also incredibly played by Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas, their struggle to raise a (hearing) child in near poverty levels, to the point that Patekar goes door to door with his daughter to make a living selling things.
Of course, both also have a love interest, and both Salman and Ilian Bergala are the weakest link.
It doesn’t matter how many people perceived Kidman’s films to be bad, I’ll still watch any of them- I mean, not for nothing she placed #2 in my list of favorite actresses. She and Doona Bae keep crossing paths in my fandom life~
So, Nic is back in London and back on stage. People who get to go to London to actually watch her perform live are mad excited… for the rest of us, we’re just damn jealous.
The Guardian also has a lovely 3min. clip where Nicole talks about who Rosalind Franklin was, the relevance of the story, the female voice, and “the sell” culture.
The Independent also has an interview with director Michael Grandage, who talks about the story, why it attracted Kidman, and attracting a younger audience.
Yu’s officially three-decades-old… but still is as cute as ever, even though she’s trying to be all grown-up and stuff. Just sit her in front of a nice matcha shaved-ice with red beans (or a velvety choco-purin), and you’ll get her all giddy.
That’s exactly what happened when promoting Dr. Rintaro on the Japanese variety Pon! with co-star on-screen mom Atsuko Takahata, who -I must say- is hilarious, too. These are obviously via the Yu Aoi Chinese fans. Watch the video. It’s 10min. long and it takes a while to load (for me).
She also did the Lilo & Stitchvoice-over event [1], and apparently got back together with someone from her Oha-girl days, so they did an Oha greeting! lol
Oh, man. I remember how much I used to love Yu-chan. xD I think I’m going to watch Climbing to Spring without subs, and hope to watch The Case of Hana & Alice now that it’s out on DVD.
So I finally gave myself time to listen to both Buddha Jump (佛跳牆) albums. Their 2014 one, Let You See (給你看), is pretty good. Fell in love with this tune at first listen~ also, surprised to learn it’s a project by Penny Tai.
The clip below is from a small show they did in China.
Yu Aoi is old enough to have a daughter… from the future for this latest CM.
For some reason, her daughter has her same hair-styled bun and that adorable fuzzy hairline that everyone loves. Otherwise~ good casting! Why need a dad when your kid looks just like the mom!
Also, I hope this doesn’t disappear because Japanese brands have this crazy idea that they can delete videos and accounts once the commercial’s season is over. No, people, these stay.
